Optimización en la solicitud de patentes Brasil

Strategic changes aim to optimize the national procedure of patent applications in Brazil

Discover the moves made by the BRPTO that are reshaping the patent landscape in Brazil with the aim of increasing the efficiency of patent proceedings and offering more flexible conditions for the payment of annual fees.

In Brazil, the latest BRPTO ordinance, which has been in effect since January 1, 2024, changes the rules of the game. It is therefore essential to be aware of these decisive updates ranging from the renewal of annual fee procedures to the reordering of patent examination. Let’s explore them:

Amidst the procedural changes made by the BRPTO, the body ended the year with interesting publications promoting advances related to the analysis of exams, annual fees and administrative resources.

The Directorate of Patents, Computer Programs and Topographies of Intergraded Circuits of the BRPTO published the new Ordinance/INPI/PR/Nº 52/2023, which comes into force on January 1, 2024, which governs the procedures related to payment control of annual payments, archiving of applications and extinction of patents, as well as the restoration of patent applications and patents referred to in articles 84 to 87 of law no. 9,279/96.

According to the new rules, advance payment of the annual fee will be accepted if made in the previous 3 months before the original opening of the payment period. This possibility must be taken into account that the previous annuities are regular, since the act will be used for the outstanding annuity, if applicable.

Still in the wake of the strategic changes carried out by the BRPTO, the same board informs that the distribution of patent applications for technical examination, and the consequent carrying out of the examination, will now be ordered by the date of the examination request, in a change to the current ordering, determined by the date of filing the application. The start date for this order was also scheduled for 01/01/2024, as published in Ordinance/INPI/Nº 56/2023.

Finally, considering the recent publication regarding the normative effect to the legal guidance with respect to the limits and scope of the full devolutive effect and in addition to the previous communication, the BRPTO published, on December 26, 2023, a rectification regarding the initially established deadline.

As for now, the BRPTO determined its full applicability from April 2, 2024. Within that same period, applicants will be able to submit an addition to the appeals filed, aiming for adjustments where applicable.

After the deadline has elapsed, appeals that have been filed by 04/01/2024 and do not comply with the expected understanding may be subject to office actions to be contested within the deadlines usually granted by law.

It is also clarified that the effects resulting from this new understanding will not be applied retroactively, therefore, not applicable to applications that have already been definitively decided at the PTO.

Head of H&A Brazil. Lawyer.